Shredded Beef Enchiladas

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Shredded Beef Enchiladas are made with soft tortillas loaded with refried beans, an ultra-tender shredded beef mixture, and plenty of cheese. The enchiladas are covered in a flavorful red enchilada sauce and baked to perfection! Top 'em off with your favorite toppings such as a diced avocado, diced tomatoes, fresh herbs, sour cream, or green onions.

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword shredded beef enchilada recipe, Shredded Beef Enchiladas

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes

Servings servings (2 enchiladas per serving)

Calories 888kcal

Author Chelsea Lords

Cost $18.34

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2.25 up to 2.5 lbs. beef chuck roast
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 pkt. taco seasoning (or homemade--see Note 1)
2 cans (10 oz. EACH) mild red enchilada sauce (Note 2)
1 can (4 oz.) mild diced green chiles
1 can (16 oz.) refried beans
8 large flour tortillas (Note 3)
1-1/2 cups each: freshly grated sharp Cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese
Optional toppings for serving: fresh cilantro, fresh lime, avocado or guac, pico, sour cream

US - Metric

Instructions

INSTANT POT: (To use slow cooker, See Note 4). Plug in Instant Pot and press the "sauté button." Wait until it reads "HOT." Meanwhile, remove chuck roast from packaging and pat dry all over with paper towel. Season all over with salt and pepper (I add 1-1/2 tsp salt & 1 tsp pepper).
SEAR ROAST: Once the instant pot reads "HOT", add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Then place the seasoned chuck roast in the pot (press so it's all in one even layer touching bottom of pot). Brown for 7 minutes on each side without flipping or moving at all in between. The roast may look blackened or even burnt, but don’t worry; that's how it's supposed to be! Remove and set aside on a cutting board. Top with foil and let rest.
PRESSURE COOK: Add the remaining 1 tbsp oil to the instant pot along with the diced onion. Sauté, scraping up browned bits at the bottom of the pot (otherwise you'll get a "burn" warning). Sauté for about 3 minutes and then add in seasonings and sauté another minute. Finally add in both cans of enchilada sauce and undrained green chiles and stir. Return roast along with any juices accumulated on plate. Submerge under liquid. Seal pressure cooker, setting valve to "sealed". Pressure cook on manual mode for 45 minutes then allow for a slow/natural release for 25 minutes.
SHRED BEEF: Once the beef is cooked, remove it to a plate and let slightly cool. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Shred beef with two forks, discarding all of the fat. Briskly whisk the sauce left in the Instant Pot (seasonings tend to settle at the bottom) and taste, adding extra salt/pepper if needed. Add 1 cup of the sauce to the shredded beef and stir.
Spread another 1/2 cup sauce on the bottom of a well-greased 9x13-inch pan.
CHEESE: In a medium-sized bowl, toss together the sharp Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses. Remove 1 cup of the cheese and set aside for topping enchiladas later.
ASSEMBLE ENCHILADAS: Set out 8 large tortillas. Divide the can of refried beans evenly by spreading about 2 tbsps down the center of each tortilla. Next, evenly divide the saucy shredded beef right on top. Evenly divide the remaining cheese over the beef. Tightly roll up each tortilla then place (seam side down) on top of the sauce in the prepared pan. Briskly whisk enchilada sauce again and pour 2 cups evenly on top of enchiladas (you'll have a bit leftover enchilada sauce--See Note 5). Cover pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and top evenly with the 1 cup of the cheese that was set aside. Return to the oven for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
GARNISH: Let the enchiladas rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Then serve, topped with your favorite toppings.

Video

Notes

Note 1: Homemade taco seasoning: Combine the following and use in place of the package: 1 tablespoon ground chili powder, 1 teaspoon each: ground cumin, paprika and 1/2 teaspoon each: onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, fine sea salt, pepper

Note 2: Enchilada sauce: This ingredient can vary greatly in flavor and heat from brand to brand. Personally, I love and recommend Old El Paso® mild red enchilada sauce. If you aren’t able to find this specific brand, I’d recommend tasting the enchilada sauce first and making sure it isn’t too spicy and that you enjoy the flavor.

Note 3: The better the tortillas, the better the enchiladas! We love these unbaked tortillas by TortillaLand®. They are generally found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store near shredded cheeses. You'll need to quickly cook them in a skillet before adding the fillings. (Otherwise use already cooked tortillas.)

Note 4: How to cook the beef in a slow cooker:

PREP BEEF: Remove chuck roast from packaging and pat dry all over with paper towel. Season with salt and pepper (I add 1-1/2 tsp salt & 1 tsp pepper).
CHAR BEEF: Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven (or oven-safe, heavy-bottomed pot) over medium-high heat. Once you can feel the heat when you hold your hand 6 inches above the pot, add the beef. Brown for about 5 minutes or until you get a nice crust and it releases easily from the pan when lifted. Flip and brown for another 5 minutes. Don't skip this step-- we are adding layers of flavor here. Once the beef is nicely seared with a good crust, remove it from the Dutch oven and place it in the slow cooker. Reduce heat to low, add in 1 more tablespoon oil and add onion. Sauté for 3 minutes, add seasonings and sauté another 1 minute. Stir in 1 can enchilada sauce and scrape up any browned bits in the pan. Transfer all of this mixture into slow cooker along with the other can of enchilada sauce and undrained can of green chiles.
COOK: Cover and cook on LOW for 7-9 hours or until beef is very tender and succulent. Alternatively, cook on high for 5-7 hours. (We don't find the beef as tender when cooked on high, but it works.). Now go back to recipe above following step 4 and on!

Note 5: Leftover enchilada sauce: The sauce makes more than you'll need for one batch of these enchiladas. Don't try to cut down the sauce volume--we need it for the beef to cook properly. Check out the post for ways to use leftover sauce!

Nutrition